Richlands to Springfield Central - Stage 2

[somebody]

Transperth has a flat $2 for their park and display parking fee, this seems reasonable ..

I look at that in the same way as I looked at the $100p.a. fee for Sydney CBD parking from a bit over a decade ago.  It's about instituting a fee and getting it accepted so it can be raised in the future.

[#Metro]

Richlands could be another suitable for some limited park and pay ..

The lower level park and pay, upper level free ...

Transperth has a flat $2 for their park and display parking fee, this seems reasonable ..

I think we need to think MINIMAL CONCRETE here. Boom gates and go card readers etc are going to require concrete and be costly, expensive etc and majorly slow things down. The minimal concrete method would be to sell pay and display tickets - just re-purpose the ticket machines that spit out paper currently to stop printing paper tickets and instead print out parking tickets. The powers of TOs etc can be expanded to include car park enforcement at bus station car parks and train station car parks as well. You should be able to buy tickets ahead of time - say for the next day while you are going home that evening or something like that.

So all this would require would be paper ticket and machine. No boom gates, no fancy technology etc. Keeps cost down, and simple.

By the way, Melbourne will go completely paperless on December 29th. Melbourne has had electronic ticketing for less time than Brisbane and it is a bigger city, more modes, more complex etc. Hurry up Brisbane!

[#Metro]

If they can do a Pay for Parking pilot Why can they not do a Frequency/Feeder Pilot?

PS don't expect Go Card to be able to be expanded that way. More likely to be PayWay!

When population is low, buses put on outside the peak will be welfare coverage services that will have low occupancy, and thus low frequency. High frequency coverage services are costly - double the frequency, double the cost. Double the patronage too, but if it is very low to start with, that's not going to keep up.

Also, during peak hour, demand is high and so almost all of the fleet is in use during peak hour. To do a peak hour trial, you need new buses - cost for a new bus is $750 000 - $1 million dollars for 1 bus.

[SurfRail]

They over invested on parking for the Gold Coast line.

+1. 

Posters will appreciate that this in particular colours most of my thinking about park'n'ride.  Parking availability has never been an issue here, to the point where it is justifiably a waste of the adjacent land.

Very easy to cock-up parking provision either way.

[Gazza]

With 100 car parks for tens of thousands of residents

Just a moment ago you were saying the population was too low for buses, and now you are saying "tens of thousands of residents", making it sound like the station will be under huge pressure from the sheer number of residents.
Is the population low, or is it high?

It's certainly higher than Moggil, a place of 2000 or so, which has BUZ running to it.

I reject the claim that feeders can't be made to work for most of the population there....The 530 is a pretty legible route that just needs to be kinked in to serve Springfield Station, and it captures basically all the population of Springfield Lakes.

The other main route, the 526, is a bit crap, hence my proposal to have the Augustine Heights to Springfield Lakes South route.

We've established the line is most likey going to be 30 min frequency off peak, which means the buses need only be 30 min frequency too (Unless there is a specific goal to get people on PT to Orion)

Park and ride doesn't actually have an advantage in this situation. You said you can just "jump in the car"...Cool, but what happens once you get to the station. Depending on when you jumped in the car you might have to serve out your wait time at the station for the next train in 25 minutes.
With the bus, so long as the timetabling/reliablity is good you should be able to transfer quite easily (One nice thing is the escalators at Springfield Central, and the street level entry at Springfield)


Redbank Plains is a grey area because its between two lines....Which way will people travel? Kinda reminds me of thinking about what will happen to the southern p[arts of the peninsular once Kippa Ring opens...Will people travel across to catch the train at Kippa Ring, or will they continue to travel south to Sandgate?

[#Metro]

Posters will appreciate that this in particular colours most of my thinking about park'n'ride.  Parking availability has never been an issue here, to the point where it is justifiably a waste of the adjacent land.

True, but the train frequency is also half that of say Joondalup and Mandurah. More trains would arguably attract more passengers, both car and bus.

Just a moment ago you were saying the population was too low for buses, and now you are saying "tens of thousands of residents", making it sound like the station will be under huge pressure from the sheer number of residents.
Is the population low, or is it high?

Will the station with 100 car parks be parked out or not? It will. Greater Springfield area population 18 000 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Springfield,_Queensland my point stands.

If we assume all 18 000 residents get up and go to work in the morning and furhtermore that we have 10% mode share (reasonable assumption) that's just ~1800 pax worth of PT user trips per day. The services you're going to get are (a) peak hour only or (b) coverage style.

It's certainly higher than Moggil, a place of 2000 or so, which has BUZ running to it.

Moggil BUZ is interesting as I don't believe that Moggill itself would normally run a BUZ based on pax generated from
Moggill alone. There's no high demand generators beyond perhaps Kenmore and indeed it does run through paddocks
for a long length (Pinjarra Hills etc). It may be an outlier. BCC also would contribute to funding meaning more buses to areas where you normally wouldn't run them, whereas Ipswich covers the Springfield area and they don't fund bus routes.

[Gazza]

But 18,000 people I think justifies the buses.
The thing that drags down the efficiency is the long runs through Camira etc.

[#Metro]

But 18,000 people I think justifies the buses.
The thing that drags down the efficiency is the long runs through Camira etc.

I'm not going to stop you from making the proposal, and welcome buses. I'm skeptical though that they will be well patronised or have decent span, particularly on weekends and evenings.
However, the P+R needs to be expanded, a lot in that location for reasons outlined previously by other posters.
Car parking should be charged for from day one as well.

[Gazza]

Lets take a step back here, the area has passed the tipping point for a rail line to go in costing hundreds of millions, yet a starting feeder network 15 min peak / 30 min offpeak cant be done?

And why wouldn't it be patronised comparably to any other similar suburban bus route?

In Springfield lakes, the loop of the 530 around Lakeside Blvd has continuous development, and the original Springfield is in a nice blob too.
I just dont get why this is unsuited to bus. It's suburbia, not acreage.

The fact the suburbia is surrounded by bushland is irrelevant, because it's beyond the walk-up catchment anyway.

[#Metro]

This might be instructive for the kind of bus service we are likely to see in that area ---> http://translink.com.au/resources/travel-information/network-information/timetables/120227-535.pdf

Limited frequency and span. I wonder how the patronage is going though, would expect it to be good during peaks.

[#Metro]

And why wouldn't it be patronised comparably to any other similar suburban bus route?

This is how I see it:

- The green route is likely to be totally underpatronised. It is short, has no anchors at either end, and not much in its catchment. Peak hour only at best, or not run at all.

- The same applies to the purple route near Augusta Parkway.

- Yellow route is generally OK, half hourly for that might be reasonable, but it is forced by the road layout to do a loop; With a car you would have a much more direct trip (faster), it would not stop at stops (faster) and be more flexible when you want to leave home in the morning (faster, more convenient). These three things will drive parking demand over that of the bus.

The purple route (only on the right hand side though) of your map looks OK, half hourly for that might be reasonable but IMHO it may be hourly...

[Derwan]

Mandurah rail has 14 feeder bus routes alone into that station ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mandurah_railway_station ), also has 533 pay and display car parks, 551 free car parks  ( http://www.transperth.wa.gov.au/TimetablesMaps/Maps/StationMaps.aspx ) .  Adequate and good feeder bus, the alternative is pay for your park - can use SmartRider flat $2 if not early.  Can you imagine this at Springfield Central?  LOL  Be lucky to have one or two mediocre peak hour only bus services ... to go with the 100 car parks ... 

We really are a backwater ....

I'm a few pages late but I happened to pop into Mandurah Station today. It's quite impressive. They've got temporary fencing near the entrance to the park'n'ride so it looks like there's development happening around the station. The bus interchange is great.

I've also driven the highways near the Joondalup and Mandurah lines. The stations are amazing with obvious emphasis on feeder buses. They arrive directly above the stations. No doubt you have a bit of a walk if you use park'n'ride.

Pay and display is a good idea. No boom gates to break or malfunction. You could still integrate it with the Go Card and have the same NFC reader for credit cards if people prefer to use them.

[Gazza]

I don't think that is a good comparison at all, it's a temporary commuter route that was only going to be around for a year or two anyway, so no incentive to ramp up.

The span of the 530 I think is more indicative...5am till 8pm. Personally I'd push it till 9:30pm or so, but for "suburbia" I've never thought that to be a 'bad' span...Certainly, for the hours where most city activity is occurring you have the buses there.

Once the line opens those 535 buses are suddenly going to be free, so no need to buy new ones at $700,000 a pop. You can imagine that if they only had stick within Springfield and not have to waste 15 mins each way on the Centenary you would be able to get more runs out of them for the same running cost.

I can imagine, given the short distances involved and routing comparable to a car it would be an attractive proposition to catch the bus to Springfield or Springfield central, compared to the somewhat long 30 min feeder trip to Goodna at present.

[Gazza]

With a car you would have a much more direct trip (faster),

False, have a look at the road layout.
Say you live in Fort Close, Springfield Lakes. You have to loop around the same way as the bus would.

it would not stop at stops (faster) and be more flexible when you want to leave home in the morning (faster, more convenient). These three things will drive parking demand over that of the bus.

Well of course park and ride is easier for this reason, just the same as private car can be more convenient for a whole trip than PT. That's not a reason not to provide it, or make an effort.

[#Metro]

I don't think that is a good comparison at all, it's a temporary commuter route that was only going to be around for a year or two anyway, so no incentive to ramp up.

Disagree. It serves the same market as the train would.

The span of the 530 I think is more indicative...5am till 8pm. Personally I'd push it till 9:30pm or so, but for "suburbia" I've never thought that to be a 'bad' span...Certainly, for the hours where most city activity is occurring you have the buses there.

These are hourly out of peak, which supports my points. I do agree with you though that every bus should ideally meet every train.

Once the line opens those 535 buses are suddenly going to be free, so no need to buy new ones at $700,000 a pop. You can imagine that if they only had stick within Springfield and not have to waste 15 mins each way on the Centenary you would be able to get more runs out of them for the same running cost.

They would cut back the bus route to meet the new, extended line of course, and peak frequency might be improved as well, though out of peak, still low frequency and still not as direct.

Well of course park and ride is easier for this reason, just the same as private car can be more convenient for a whole trip than PT. That's not a reason not to provide it, or make an effort.

It's not a reason not to provide an effort. But it *is* a pretty big indication of the likely demand for car parking spots at the station. And as I pointed out, a large section of the purple line and green lines would likely not exist.

Perth provides huge car parks and feeder buses. Don't know what the big issue is with increased parking...

[ozbob]

Mandurah rail has 14 feeder bus routes alone into that station ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mandurah_railway_station ), also has 533 pay and display car parks, 551 free car parks  ( http://www.transperth.wa.gov.au/TimetablesMaps/Maps/StationMaps.aspx ) .  Adequate and good feeder bus, the alternative is pay for your park - can use SmartRider flat $2 if not early.  Can you imagine this at Springfield Central?  LOL  Be lucky to have one or two mediocre peak hour only bus services ... to go with the 100 car parks ... 

We really are a backwater ....

I'm a few pages late but I happened to pop into Mandurah Station today. It's quite impressive. They've got temporary fencing near the entrance to the park'n'ride so it looks like there's development happening around the station. The bus interchange is great.

I've also driven the highways near the Joondalup and Mandurah lines. The stations are amazing with obvious emphasis on feeder buses. They arrive directly above the stations. No doubt you have a bit of a walk if you use park'n'ride.

Pay and display is a good idea. No boom gates to break or malfunction. You could still integrate it with the Go Card and have the same NFC reader for credit cards if people prefer to use them.

Cool Derwan, get any pics? 

[somebody]

It's certainly higher than Moggil, a place of 2000 or so, which has BUZ running to it.

Say what?  Where did you get this information from?  ABS say Belbowrie-Moggill = 9305 people.

[Gazza]

My mistake. Forgot to check Belbowrie. Separately

[Old Northern Road]

I'm sorry but I definitely disagree with you guys here. In fact I really like the design of Springfield Central station with the bus interchange below.

First of all Brisbane probably has more park n ride spaces per capita than any other city on the planet. It certainly has more than any other Australian city. In fact I remember reading somewhere on the Internet someone using Brisbane as an example of a city that's gone overboard building Park n Rides. People mentioning the Mandurah line seem to have forgotten that the 2 inner stations on that line have no car parks and neither will the future station at South Perth. The distance between stations on the outer part of the Mandurah line is also a lot more than on the Springfield line so you'd expect them to have larger park n rides. Springfield and Springfield Central are only around 3km apart while Mandurah to Warnbo is over 20km.

You only have to look at the Caboolture line to see why Park n Rides don't work. Nearly every station on the Caboolture line has seen a massive expansion of their car parks in recent years (at the cost of tens of millions of dollars) yet it hasn't made any difference whatsoever, every car park is completely full by around 7am. Basically the only people who can use these stations are peak hour commuters and the few people who live within walking distance of the stations. When I use to live in North Lakes and needed to use the train during off peak I was forced to drive all the way to either Wooloowin or Albion. That's like you Ipswich guys being forced to drive all the way to Toowong to get a park. If they ran a half decent bus servive between Petrie and North Lakes I would have certainly used it.

I can guarantee to all the people claiming that 100 parking spaces won't be enough that 500 spaces won't be enough either if there's no decent bus service. If Springfield Central only manages 500 boardings a day then it will definitely be considered a failure.

I'm not sure why some people are saying that there's is no walk up patronage at Springfield Central either. There's a bloody shooping centre only 200m away for a start. Basically everything in this image left of the lake is within walking distance of the station plus there is all the development north of the station which you can't see.



Also I believe Mango Hill station is only going to have around 100 spaces as well.

[ozbob]

Welcome Old Northern Road.  I agree that 500 spaces wont be enough if there is no decent bus service and this is what particularly concerns me. We have long advocated much better feeder bus networks, as this is truly sustainable.  Have a look here --> http://railbotforum.org/mbs/index.php?topic=532.0  Springfield however has a long way to go and will need careful management to stop the failures you  have mentioned and we have highlighted for years.

I am concerned though that 100 spaces will not be enough at Springfield Central particularly, and agree with Cr Morrison's suggestion of a temporary car park, whilst the area and feeder bus network is properly developed.  We can only hope that TransLink are funded to put on a decent bus network, otherwise the parking issues at Richlands, Wacol and Gailes and the like are only going to get worse than they are now as people continue to drive through.  A situation similar in the general sense as you experienced driving through to Wooloowin Albion.

Fact is though Mandurah works, has adequate feeder buses and massive car parks, many of which are charged a fee.  Inner Perth is not equivalent to Springfield.  Springfield needs both, feeder bus and adequate park and ride.  Mandurah itself has 14 feeder bus routes into the station, 533 pay and display car parks, and 551 free car parks.

Most of the residents in the Springfield area are car dependent, and have been for years.  To get them onto the train will take a measured approach.

Your photograph shows the stylised completed project from the Greater Springfield Website.   Springfield is only 14% along the development path and will be long time before it looks like that. 

Springfield Central a couple of months ago

[ozbob]

Interesting thesis:

THE APPLICATION OF THE PARK & RIDE AND TOD CONCEPT

http://eprints.qut.edu.au/31827/1/Simon_Ginn_Thesis.pdf

There are situations that even TODs and Park and Rides work together.  Springfield Central is one of these situations IMHO.

[somebody]

It's not at all clear that there is a market for a bigger PnR at Springfield Central.  Springfield Lakes might be different, but there one might expect feeder buses anyway.

Redbank Plains certainly needs better feeder buses - nothing south of the High School, why's that?

[ozbob]

It's not at all clear that there is a market for a bigger PnR at Springfield Central.  Springfield Lakes might be different, but there one might expect feeder buses anyway.

Redbank Plains certainly needs better feeder buses - nothing south of the High School, why's that?

Talk to the local residents, local political representatives ... it is clear alright. 

Feeder buses are patchy.  Springfield (Lakes) is more accessible locally.  Central would be the logical place for an expanded park and ride.

We still have the hole in roam zone C Goodna, although hopefully something is being done about that.

[somebody]

Proportion of residents that think there should be more parking at their station: 100%
Proportion of residents that think they should pay for it: 0%

[ozbob]

I have been meeting with residents, councillors and politicians around the Springfield issue since 2006.

Their informed opinions are not one of self serving positions but rather real concerns with the knowledge of the transport dynamics of the area.  The movement of people, the road use, the congestion. 

People will come along the roads to Springfield Central, and hope to park. They won't be able to. They will add to the congestion and head for Springfield (Lakes).  Limited parking there so they will just do what they are doing now, add to the congestion on the road network and head for stations further in. 

The real reason why Springfield Central is to have 100 car parks is because of the former rule that TransLink had, no major park and ride within 3 km of activity centres.  That makes sense for Milton but not Springfield Central that is almost rural.  It will not be a major activity centre for many years yet.  This is the problem.  This is why a temporary facility was suggested by the Councillor.  Give them some credit, they do know their constituencies. 

Carindale park and ride was established in contravention to the former edict of TransLink.  Time to fix Springfield Central ..

http://www.trackstar.com.au/index.php?s=file_download&id=20

Why is Springfield Central Station only getting 100 car parks, while Springfield
Station is getting 200 car parks?

TransLink's policy is to develop park n' ride facilities outside the CBD and city fringe
areas and not within three kilometres of major activity centres, such as Springfield.
The priority is to coordinate and integrate public transport that encourages
passengers to connect to major stations via transport modes that don‟t increase
traffic congestion of the surrounding road network.
Springfield Central Station will have a full bus interchange, and Springfield Station
will have easy access to bus stops.

[HappyTrainGuy]

In regards to the Caboolture line park and rides the reason that they are quite large was because the stations were in an era where it was train vs bus with separate fares for each mode. When translink formed they kept that going by hardly touching the bus network to help feed people into the railway line. As areas futher out of town started expanding they got the short end of the pt stick resulting in many people driving to stations eg people in redcliffe driving to Petrie/Bald Hills, people in Murrumba Downs driving to Petrie or people on Bribie Island driving to Caboolture. Burpengary and Narangba are feeling the effects too with expansion and and poor peak hour feeder bus network (half hourly and cuts out with the 6-6.30 train from central being the last connecting service). Once mbrl goes ahead the only issues I can see will be people from deception bay and north lakes with regards to their feeder bus network connecting to the railway line. Redcliffe is already a good feeder route wise (maybe some improvement to the north) but as soon as its online their network needs a kick in the running hours dept.

[mufreight]

Being a terminus station Springfield Central like Ferny Grove has a need for park and ride, Ferny Grove will have about 1000 car spaces when completed as against the  100 spaces proposed for Springfield Central yet Springfield Central will service a much larger gathering area than Ferny Grove gathering passengers from as far west as Boonah, Aratula,Harrisville, Willobank, Deebing Heights and the Ripley Valley as well as Springfield.
Without the provision of adequate parking at Springfield Central to cater for these commuters they will simply drive further towards their destination if not all the way to their destination creating more congestion on the road system particularly the Centenary Highway with the probability that Springfield and Springfield Central will both be under utilised with less that the 500 boardings per day making the Springfield line an abject failure.

[colinw]

Tell you all what, when all those billions of dollars worth of buildings and "fancy vision" get built, you can have your 100 carparks and utopian vision.

Until then, how do you think the Springfield line is going to work?    I don't mean in 10 or 20 years time.  I mean in about 12 months time, when the trains start rolling to a station in a wasteland over the road from a Big W.

For bonus points: focus on what is really happening on the ground today, not some fuzzy vision from a promotional video put out by the previous Government.

I wonder how many of the people posting here have actually been to Springfield and seen what is there today, and how it is REALLY developing?  I know ozbob and Mufreight have. 

[somebody]

Springfield Central a couple of months ago

Where is the shopping centre and Uni from that?

[ozbob]

Springfield Central a couple of months ago

Where is the shopping centre and Uni from that?

Station is where the black line is.  The uni is quite away from the station.  Look at the map, further south from the shopping centre.  It is relatively small centre at present.

View Larger Map

[somebody]

Ta, thanks for that.

I would say that there needs to be pedestrian access between the station and the shopping centre.  Looks like the Uni is too far away to walk, so could need a bus, which  perhaps would be better as a second anchor for a feeder into Springfield Lakes.  Having been to USQ, it certainly feels like the middle of nowhere.

When I went out there I felt nothing short of shock that this area was getting a railway line right now.  Preserved corridor I could see, but the actual line for so few people?

[colinw]

When I went out there I felt nothing short of shock that this area was getting a railway line right now.  Preserved corridor I could see, but the actual line for so few people?

I don't object to a line going in with development, but it certainly seemed a bit odd when Springfield got the nod while we continued to dither about Kippa-Ring and Browns Plains/Greenbank, both of which serve much large catchments.

But then transport planning in Australia always has been hopelessly compromised by the intersection of political & commercial interests.

Given that the line IS going in, it is now necessary to make sure it effectively supports the area. That will require a sensible combination of park & ride, feeder buses, drop off zones and walk up patronage.  Right now the area's low density will tend to only support park & ride & drop off, with feeder buses from some areas.

I do not agree that Springfield is completely incompatible with feeder buses. While it would be difficult to actually put a bus through the suburban maze, most of that maze is relatively close to reasonable standard roads like Augusta Pkwy, Santa Monica Drive, Springfield Pkwy, Springfield Lakes Blvd, etc. These roads should all carry buses that meet every train at either Springfield Lakes or Springfield Central.  There also needs to be a "town centre" loop bus that connects to USQ, the NEC Data Centre, Orion Town Centre & so forth (although Orion itself will be walkable).

I think the ultimate future of this line will include at least one Ferny Grove scale Park & Ride, probably at the next station beyond Springfield Central (whenever that happens).  With full development of the town centre, parking can be scaled back from what we are advocating at present, although I still think 100 will fall short of the mark.

[somebody]

although I still think 100 will fall short of the mark.

Maybe it will, but I say it is far more clear that 1000 is too many at Springfield Central.

The argument about Redbank Plains people driving to Springfield Central ignores that there should be more reasonable feeder services to Redbank and Goodna.

[ozbob]

From the Couriermail Quest click here!

Cyclists want the government to rethink its plans to drop a bikeway extension

Cyclists want the government to rethink its plans to drop a bikeway extension

    by: James Drew, South-West News
    From: Quest Newspapers
    December 05, 2012 12:01AM

Pedal power advocates are petitioning the State Government to reinstate plans for a bikeway from Richlands to Springfield.

A path stretching 5.1km was to be built alongside the new Springfield railway line but Transport Minister Scott Emerson axed the project last October, preferring to use the money to build new lanes on the Centenary Motorway.

More than 900 people have signed a petition demanding the government rethink its latest transport strategy for the Western Corridor.

Leading petitioner Robyn Luscombe, of Centenary Bicycle User Group (CBUG), said axing the cycleway was a missed opportunity.

"We're aghast at this decision which is anti-health, pro-pollution and risks lives by not providing a decent cycling route," she said.

CBUG members Chris Bonner and Malcolm Chandler also voiced their disapproval saying the bikeway would have created a long off-road path which was safe and had access to major railway stations.

Springfield Lakes cyclist Ken Bourne welcomed extra lanes on the motorway but believed a bikeway would have been a safer, more direct route preferable to the one he takes through Camira and Wacol to the city.

Sustainable Jamboree's Ngaire McGaw said the decision was typical of the State Government's "assault on the environment".

Public transport advocate and Rail Back on Track spokesman Robert Dow, of Goodna, said axing the bikeway would encourage more people to drive.

The petition will be tabled in Parliament by Bundamba MP Jo-Ann Miller.

In a statement, Mr Emerson said the extra road lanes would promote growth in the region.

[SurfRail]

^ While nice in theory, I expect the airport to Gold Coast pairing will be removed.  It simply isn't good practice to have a service cutting across all 3 sectors of the network.  The only sensible way to preserve it is to grade separate the junction so it can be accessed from the main line without crossing anything.

[somebody]

^ While nice in theory, I expect the airport to Gold Coast pairing will be removed.  It simply isn't good practice to have a service cutting across all 3 sectors of the network.  The only sensible way to preserve it is to grade separate the junction so it can be accessed from the main line without crossing anything.

Think they get through patronage now?  I expect that if Ipswich or Richlands to Airport becomes a reality that they will get far more.  The train really isn't very attractive compared to driving up the Gateway Motorway from the Gold Coast.

[SurfRail]

Think they get through patronage now?

Which line do I travel on again?

I expect that if Ipswich or Richlands to Airport becomes a reality that they will get far more.  The train really isn't very attractive compared to driving up the Gateway Motorway from the Gold Coast.

Doubtful.  People using the train generally won't have a car.

There is undoubtedly more through patronage on the other pairings, but I think you would be quite surprised by how many journeys are made to the Gold Coast from the airport.

Even still, it needs to go unless they want to pay to fix the junction.

[somebody]

I expect that if Ipswich or Richlands to Airport becomes a reality that they will get far more.  The train really isn't very attractive compared to driving up the Gateway Motorway from the Gold Coast.

Doubtful.  People using the train generally won't have a car.

What?  It's expensive to park at the airport.  That's a reason to leave the car at home on its own.

I would have thought Airtrain's main competition is (a) taxis (b) people dropping/picking up

[SurfRail]

I expect that if Ipswich or Richlands to Airport becomes a reality that they will get far more.  The train really isn't very attractive compared to driving up the Gateway Motorway from the Gold Coast.

Doubtful.  People using the train generally won't have a car.

What?  It's expensive to park at the airport.  That's a reason to leave the car at home on its own.

I would have thought Airtrain's main competition is (a) taxis (b) people dropping/picking up

Think it through.  The main market for people coming down to the Gold Coast - Australia's second most internationally-visited tourist destination behind Sydney - from the nearest international airport - are tourists.  They don't have cars, so are something of a captive market.  They won't know or care about the motorway network in Brisbane - why should they?

[somebody]

Ahh ok.

Still, taxis are real competition for the market.  Perhaps people won't make the decision on rational grounds in a lot of cases.  Putting 4 people in a cab and heading to the Gold Coast is likely cheaper than using the train and also much faster except when the traffic is jammed up.